I can count on one hand the number of boys in my life who have legitimately asked me on a proper date. I do not count blind dates or any kind of set up or "hanging out". Today was the 5th time in the history of my life that a boy asked me out. How can this be you ask? How can a person go through their whole BYU existence without going on at least a hundred dates? Well, I consider myself one of the lucky ones. I was able to escape BYU unmarried with an opportunity to live on my own, find out who I was, and what I really wanted. I consider it one of the greatest blessing to have not been paired up and married off by the age of 21. However, the downside to this kind of thinking is that my social abilities around other single men are rather tragic. I have been told by my close friends that I come off as a bit of a she-devil. I do not think or sense that I am doing anything remotely close to that, but I also realize I am not the best judge. So I have recently decided to change some things that I think are reasonable:
1. Smile at people even if you don't like them or they smell bad
2. Make positive comments when in a conversation rather than sarcastic ones
3. Don't instantly shut off when someone mentions the topics BYU or Utah
4. Don't tell whole depressing life story in 2 min as conversation starter
The one thing I refuse to do is trade in my high heels for flats. I absolutely will not do it! I don't care if it is intimidating or makes me too tall, I love my shoes and people will have to deal with it.
So today, after a couple of months applying these things, I was asked out on a date. I was glad that someone actually noticed me for the first time in the 12 years that I have lived in Austin. So it's a start. I feel like I have progressed. Do I think I am any closer to getting married? Absolutely not. I think when I see the person I'll know right away, that's the advantage of being older. You know exactly who you are, what you want, and what you need so you can skip all the drama.
